The Legend of Henry: Rise of the Dragon Monster
by TRikiD
Summary: All Henry's life, he believed he was as average as any other monster out there...but he soon discovers he was wrong. Before he knows it, Henry is thrown on an epic journey to save the world, and discovers who he really is.
1. Chapter 1 - Henry's Adventure Begins

The Legend of Henry: Rise of the Dragon Monster

Chapter 1 - Henry's Adventure Begins

You may think Henry Hugglemonster was just your average monster from your average town of Roarsville, but you would be surprised to find that everything you thought about him was wrong. During Henry's young life, everyone has always kept Henry's true origins a secret; even his older siblings knew what he truly was, but they all swore never to tell, in hopes of keeping him safe.

But when Henry turned seven, no one ever expected things to change so suddenly.

As a seven year old, the young yellow Hugglemonster could tell he was definitely growing stronger as days passed…and so did his family; they knew that one day, Henry would discover what he really was, but they never wanted it to come, not just yet.

But Henry began his day like any other day: playing with his best friends Denzel, Gertie, and Estelle while they played their favorite game Huggle Ball out on the Huggle Ball field.

"Heads up, Denzel!" Henry called while he and Denzel were playing against the girls, and he soon passed the ball to the albino monster, who caught the spiky ball on his back.

Gertie and Estelle started chasing after Denzel while he sprinted for his and Henry's goal; lucky for the boys, Denzel was able to take a leap of faith for the goal and won the game.

"Yeah!" Denzel and Henry cheered when they ran up to each other and high-fived.

"Aw, c'mon, that's the third game we've lost!" Estelle whined.

"Just ONE more game?" Henry begged.

"No. Either we play something else, or we're not playing at all," Gertie firmly protested as she and Estelle crossed their arms.

"Oh, alright," Denzel sighed, but then he perked up with an idea, "how about Hide 'n Seek?"

"Hmm…alright, why not? Who's It first?" Gertie questioned.

…

"NOT IT!" Estelle, Gertie, and Denzel quickly yelled in unison, but Henry was one mere second too late.

"Aww, man," Henry pouted.

"Start counting, It! And no flying to find us!" Estelle called out after Henry, who covered his eyes and they all immediately spread out; he then started counting aloud.

Thirty seconds later, Henry opened his eyes and looked around, but none of his friends were anywhere in sight.

"Hmmm…" Henry hummed, and then he looked at his wings and grinned, "it wouldn't hurt ta use my wings ONCE."

With that, Henry started flapping and took off for a bird's eye view; it wasn't long before he found Estelle, since she was the biggest out of his friends, and he found her 'trying' to hide behind a tree.

"Found ya, Estelle!"

"Hey, I said no flying!" Estelle angrily shouted, only making Henry laugh.

The yellow monster then flew over to a group of bushes not too far from Estelle's hiding place, and that's where he found Gertie trying to hide.

"Got'cha, Gertie!"

"Aww, man!" Gertie whined after losing, leaving only Denzel left. But even after a bit of flying, Henry still couldn't find his digging friend.

"Denzel?!" Henry called, but there was no reply.

"Denzel!"

Still nothing.

Henry became worried. What if Denzel was in danger? Little did Henry know that his question would soon be answered.

"HEEEELP!"

"Denzel?!" Henry called while breaking in mid-air.

"Help, please!"

"Where are you?!"

"I'm at the river!"

Henry immediately darted for the river just west of Roarsville, and he soon started flying upstream; the yellow monster made sure to keep his eyes peeled to scan the river for any signs of his friend, but he still didn't see anything.

"HENRY!"

It wasn't until Denzel called out one last time that Henry swore he heard his voice coming from a nearby stone bride over the wide river, and he soon dove down onto the bridge to look for Denzel.

Henry looked all around him, and there was nothing but the sound of the river below; after a few moments of absolute nothing, Henry slowly approached the edge of the bride and leaned over the stone railing, and looked down at his reflection in the water.

But that peaceful moment was interrupted when Denzel suddenly burst out from underneath the bridge and roared while giving his scariest face, casuing Henry to scream in terror while falling back from the edge, and Denzel hopped up onto the railing while laughing.

"Hey! That wasn't funny, Denzel!" Henry growled.

"I was only joking, Henry, I'm sorry," Denzel chuckled and leant Henry a hand to help him back up.

"You're such a troll," Henry grumbled while turning away from Denzel and crossing his arms…but they suddenly couldn't help but start snickering at Henry's clever word play.

"Wanna keep playing?" Henry questioned with a smile.

"Hmm…no, I think I'd rather now play…TAG!" Denzel slowly replied, and then he suddenly tagged Henry's shoulder and sprinted off the other side of the bridge towards the forest.

Henry grinned and immediately flew after his friend, and he quickly caught up to him since two wings are much faster than two legs. But Henry never expected Denzel to actually step inside the forest; the forest in particular was the Dark Forest, woods that were off limits, and Denzel wasn't stopping.

"No fair, Denzel, we're not allowed in there!" Henry called out.

"Catch up or give up, Henry! Ha-ha!" Denzel mocked while running into the forest, and Henry stopped and landed just before entering the forest himself.

He knew he couldn't let Denzel go in the Dark Forest by himself, so he stared up at the dark and creepy trees outlining the woods, and slowly started walking into the creepy forest.

Henry has never been in the Dark Forest before, and it certainly didn't help that there were large, dead trees looming over him wherever he went; he could hear some bugs chattering, some birds chirping, and an owl hooting; each sound was more eerie than the last.

Despite most of the trees having no leaves on them, their dead limbs were so thickly twisted that it was almost impossible for the sunlight to seep through; Henry wanted to find Denzel and get out fast.

"Denzel?" Henry whisper-shouted, but then he suddenly jumped at the sound of loud wings flapping, as birds quickly fluttered away.

"D-Denzel…" Henry whimpered, slowing his pace.

The farther Henry went in, the more chills ran up his spine, and he once again couldn't find any signs of his friend…but then he suddenly heard laughing.

"Denzel?" Henry asked with a more slightly raised voice, and he found that up ahead in a clearing was none other than Denzel himself, who was excited to check out the place.

"Oh, hey Henry! Isn't this place awesome?!" Denzel laughed with excitement while waving at his friend, and Henry soon approached him.

"No, it's not, Denzel. We need to get out of here; we don't know who else lives here," Henry protested with worry while glancing around nervously.

"Oh, don't be such a scaredy-cat, Henry," Denzel scoffed, "I haven't seen anyone else here yet. What could possibly go-WHOA!"

Just when Denzel was about to prove his point by leaning up against a boulder, the boulder suddenly started to move on its own, and it rose up out of the ground to reveal itself as some kind of rock golem that towered over the young monsters.

Henry and Denzel were both frozen with fear when the golem glared and growled down at them, and their eyes were as wide as dinner plates with their mouths gaping. But Denzel's karma for his shenanigans finally caught up with him when the rock golem suddenly grabbed him in his giant fist.

"Henry, help me!"

"DENZEL, NOOO!" Henry cried out, and something suddenly sparked in Henry's heart when he saw his friend in danger. The yellow monster felt something hot rising up from his stomach and up his throat, and out of instinct, he suddenly opened his mouth and WHOOSH! Roaring flames flew out of his mouth, and he nearly scorched Denzel while burning the rock golem.

The said huge monster dropped Denzel to run around in a panic; even though he was made of rock, it still hurt. But soon, the rock golem couldn't take it, and he suddenly just ran off while crying.

Meanwhile, Denzel was not only surprised at the giant creature that nearly killed him, but also at what Henry just did; speaking of which, Henry was standing there, inhaling and exhaling, as small streams of smoke arose from his mouth, and his eyes were wide with shock.

"Whoa…" Denzel began meekly, but then he smiled, "was that FIRE, dude?!"

"I-I…I don't know WHAT just happened…but I don't want it to happen again," Henry meekly replied while shaking his head.

"Are you gonna tell you're parents?" Denzel questioned.

"There's no need—they already know!"

Henry and Denzel jumped at the sudden voice, but the looked to find that it was only Henry's grandfather, Grando, approaching them.

"Grand-o? What are you doing here?" Henry asked, but then he shrunk in shame, "you're not mad at me for going into the Dark Forest, are you?"

"I am a little mad, but I'm just glad you're both safe…but Henry—I'm afraid there's something you don't know that maybe…maybe we should have told you a long time ago," Grando explained firmly while kneeling down to get eye level with Henry.

"T-tell me w-what?" Henry whimpered.

* * *

That night, Grando had taken Denzel home, and Henry was scared to see what his parents would have to say after he explained to them what he did.

But soon, he found himself with his family, including his grandparents, gathered around him in the living room.

"I-I don't know what came over me…I-I wanted to save Denzel, I got scared, and then I just…" Henry frantically explained.

"Calm down, Henry, it's not your fault. We're proud that you saved Denzel," Henry's mom reassured while giving him a hug, in which it slowed his breaths and calmed him down as he hugged back.

"So, you're not gonna ground me for going into the Dark Forest?" Henry soon questioned.

"We would, but…I'm afraid we can't now," Henry's dad replied, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean? Why am I not grounded?" Henry asked with more confusion, but his family all exchanged worried glances.

"What?" Henry urged.

"We think it's time we told you the truth," Nanno softly replied.

"You see, Henry, you're no ordinary monster—you're a Dragon Monster," Grando added.

…

"I-I'm a what?" Henry finally spoke once the shock settled.

"A Dragon Monster, or in other words, the exact same thing as me," Grando pointed out.

"You're a Dragon Monster too?" Henry questioned, and his grandfather nodded, "well…what about Momma or Daddo…o-or Summer and Cobby…or even Ivor?"

"It's more complicated than it seems, Henry; the Dragon Monster is very rare, and that's why neither of your parents or your siblings have the same abilities as you do," Nanno explained softly.

"Yes, and when I was born, I became the next Dragon Monster—but when you came along, we could tell you were destined to be one too," Grando went on, "you need to understand that you weren't born as a Dragon Monster out of luck, Henry. You were chosen—destiny chose you."

As all of this sank in, it wasn't easy for Henry to comprehend it, and he went wide eyed and his mouth went slack when he placed a clawed hand on his forehead to ponder everything.

"Ok, I think we've had enough story telling for tonight…I think you should go to bed, honey," Henry's mom calmly cut in, and she then took her son's hand and walked upstairs with him.

But as Henry walked up the stairs, he could only turn back towards his family that lied to him all this time, and they refused to look back.

Soon, Henry was tucked into bed, and his mom was just about to leave his room when…

"M-Momma?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Am I…dangerous?"

"Oh, no, no, no! Not at all, Honey," his mom quickly replied while coming back to sit on his bed, and she started to gently pet his head to comfort him, "you're still our little monster, Henry."

Henry smiled at that…but just a little.

"Now, goodnight," his mom said and then leaned down to give a little kiss on his forehead, and she stood back up to leave.

Henry turned over onto his left side after his door was shut, but he couldn't go to sleep, not after what happened today, and he certainly couldn't fall asleep when he didn't know what would happen now that he knows so much more.

* * *

 **In case it wasn't already obvious: yes, this is a parody of the Legend of Spyro trilogy, and I'm SO FLIPPIN' excited to be writing this! I love both Legend of Spyro and Henry Hugglemonster, and I'm just so proud of myself for coming up with the idea to combine the two!**

 **Also, I don't care if you judge me for watching a little kids shows! I'll never grow up!**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Fire Training

Chapter 2 – Fire Training

As Henry slept, things in Roarsville weren't exactly peaceful; Henry soon heard screaming and loud roaring, along with many explosions, and each noise made him slightly open his eyes, but he was too tired to keep them open for long.

But the few times Henry did open his eyes, he swore he heard that the creature making the roaring was inside his house…but he was so tired, he thought he was dreaming, and went right back to sleep.

* * *

Morning came, and the bright sun shown into Henry's room, waking him up, and he thought that everything that happened yesterday was all just some crazy dream…but he was wrong.

When Henry walked downstairs, he never heard a sound; none of Cobby's newest inventions were whirring, there was not a faint sound of Summer's singing, and not a peep out of Ivor; not only was it quiet, but the house was empty, and all the furniture was totaled.

"Oh, no! What happened?! Momma?! Dad-o?!" Henry called out in a panic.

"They're gone, Henry."

Henry jumped at the voice, only to find that it was his Grand-o standing in the doorway, which its door was also ripped from its hinges.

"W-what?" Henry whimpered.

"They were taken—they were ALL taken," Grand-o replied slowly with devastation.

"What took them, Grand-o?"

"The same thing that took my family," Denzel replied, as he suddenly walked in from behind Grand-o, and he walked up to Henry's side to comfort him.

"Dakota," Grand-o stated in a hiss, as if the name was like poison.

"Dakota?" Henry questioned.

"Yes…Dakota is a horrible, evil monster that lives in solitude, serving the Dark Monster's biddings," Grand-o explained.

"So, Dakota took ours AND Denzel's family?" Henry asked his granddad with shock.

"Dakota unfortunately took more than just them, Henry; all of the adults, elders and even children of Roarsville have been kidnapped."

"Yeah, it's a ghost town out there," Denzel added.

"Th-this is terrible! What are we gonna do, Grand-o?!" Henry asked with fear.

"I'm sorry, Henry, but I can't help you…I'm afraid I'm far too old and weak to fight these days…but you're both young and strong, and you're fit for training, Henry," Grand-o reassured with a smile, and then he turned and walked out the door.

"Hey, where are you goin'?!" Denzel called.

"To the fountain in town square, and you'll want to come with me!" Grand-o called back with a chuckle; Denzel and Henry shared confused glances before shrugging it off and running after the old Dragon Monster who was passed his prime.

The three monsters, who were the only ones left in the whole town, soon reached the fountain in town square, and the younger ones found Grand-o just staring into the fountain's calm waters.4

"What'cha lookin' at?" Henry asked as he and Denzel leaned over the edge, but they didn't see anything in the water; nothing but a few old coins at the bottom.

"Yeah, what are you seeing that were aren't?" Denzel asked with a cocked eyebrow, but then he suddenly smiled brightly when he saw something at the bottom, "hey, a heads-up penny!"

"Some monsters, such as myself, have been trained in the art of water vision; an ancient art in which we can look into the pools of peace, and we can see visions or predictions," Grand-o explained while continuing to glance around in the gentle water.

"Ooh, really?! Ok! Then guess what I'm thinking right now!" Denzel said with excitement, but Grand-o only looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and never said anything.

"How 'bout now…now…now, now, now, now?!"

"Stop it, Denzel," Henry interrupted firmly, and then turned to his grandfather, "can you see where the others are, Grand-o?"

"That's the plan, but it's not as easy as it looks; though, I can see where the other adults were taken. They're in the Dark Forest, in which they're being held captive."

"So, then let's go," Henry said with impatience, but then Denzel stopped him.

"Are you crazy? You're gonna go back there after what we ran into yesterday?"

"He's right, Henry; you're not ready to face what's out there—not yet, at least; with the proper training, you may have a fighting chance," Grand-o pointed out with a smile.

"Training? What king of training?" Henry questioned.

"Why, fire training, of course," Grand-o replied, and with a simple nod of his head to the fountain, the entire stone mark started to literally started to slowly disappear down into the ground, and a stone panel closed the hole behind it.

"Uh…what did you just do, and how did you do it?" Denzel asked with shock.

"It's one of the very few things I can do for now, but I can also teach you to harness the fire power within you, Henry," Grand-o said while staring his grandson directly into his eyes, and then he started to push Denzel away from the center of the town square, where the fountain used to be, and they left Henry there.

But before the younger monsters' eyes sprouted something else from the ground, and it REALLY astonished them; a bunch of wooden, scare crow-like dummies popped out of the ground like daises, and there were numerous ones surrounding Henry.

"Don't be afraid to hit them, Henry; they're magic, and are therefore indestructible," Grand-o pointed out.

"How is this here? What is this place?" Henry asked while looking all around himself at the large wooden dummies.

"That very spot used to be a training arena for Dragon Monsters like us many generations back, but once they started to disappear, its true purpose has been long forgotten. But now that we are on the rise again, we must bring it back," Grand-o explained, "now Henry, I want you to muster all the rage you can within your heart, and channel it up your throat, where it will become raging fire once it exits your mouth!"

Henry was actually pretty scared and confused about what to do; what he did yesterday to that rock golem was an accident, and he had no idea how he did it. But he remembered what his granddad said, and he closed his eyes tightly while gathering up as much anger as he could.

The young Dragon Monster could feel a great heat in his heart, and he could only feel it grow stronger, as it traveled up his throat to get out, but the magic in the dummies also felt the fire in Henry, so they started to move and enclose him very quickly.

But they were not going to get him; before they could lay a single wooden claw on Henry, he opened his mouth, and he finally figured out how to breath flames at his will, and he was successfully able to burn all of the dummies while whipping the flames around.

"Whoa, dude, AWESOME!" Denzel shouted with awe.

"Yes, very good, Henry!" Grand-o laughed happily.

Soon, all of the dummies plopped down to the ground, but they never turned to ash; the flames just poofed away, and they all perked right back up.

"Ok, these things are the reason why I don't like scare crows," Denzel pointed out in a grumble.

"Now, you need to learn a few melee moves!" Grand-o shouted, "once more, channel the fire within you, but turn it into physical embodiment when hitting the dummies."

Henry glared and growled at the wooden scare crows that once again started to surround him, and he could feel his hands and feet start to heat up; soon, Henry gathered enough confidence and strength to fly towards one of them, and that's when a fiery glow engulfed his hands, feet, wings and horns, as he started to land every punch and kick on them that he could. He would also use his flight power to kick some of the scare crows up into the air, and he would perform many aerial attacks on them.

Denzel was completely shocked, and his jaw was slack while his eyes were wide, but Grand-o was so happy and proud of his grandson's potential.

"Not bad at all, Henry, but we're not done yet. There is just one more and VERY important move for you to learn," Grand-o began, "like the other elements you will learn to control-."

"Wait, there's MORE freaky stuff to come outta his mouth?!" Denzel asked with fear.

"I-I didn't know I had more powers," Henry added.

"The Dragon monster is born with many abilities that other monsters are not, and they are special, so use your powers wisely, Henry," Grand-o explained firmly, "now, as I was going to say, the most powerful attack of ALL is an elemental fury; to summon a fury, you must gather all of your energy, and let it out in outrage of POWER!"

The wooden dummies started to surround Henry again, and the young Dragon Monster wasted no time in breathing fire and burning them, and he used more fiery melee attacks. And the more Henry attacked the dummies that never went down, he could feel his strength quickly increase.

But to make it more challenging for Henry, three more giant wooden scarecrows were grew from the ground, and Henry knew they wouldn't go down as easily…but he also knew they would fall harder.

The fires on all of Henry's limbs grew bigger, as he flew up into the air and closed his eyes tightly while concentrating, and that's when Denzel suddenly panicked, not knowing what would happen next, so he suddenly dug a deep hole in the ground to take cover. But even as a bright fiery aura engulfed Henry, Grand-o only smiled and never moved, even when the aura became an explosion and nearly knocked him back.

But the dummies were certainly knocked back, and as they burned, they suddenly poofed out of sight, and Henry slowly descended back down to the ground.

"Dude, that was TOO COOL!" Denzel shouted.

"Aw, is that it? I'm all fired up!" Henry said as adrenaline pumped through his veins, and his limbs were still slightly on fire, but he felt no pain.

"It's a good thing you're ready to fight, Henry, because now you can go and look for the other adults in the Dark Forest," Grand-o pointed out firmly, "and be careful and quick you two; I'll stay here to search up on the others' locations!"

With that, Denzel and Henry made their way out of town, and Grand-o stayed behind while rising the fountain back up from the ground to look for them in the water.

Meanwhile, as Henry and Denzel were headed in the Dark Forest's direction, Henry couldn't help but feel a lump of fear in his throat, and it was difficult to swallow.

"So…did you see what Dakota looked like?"

"No, I didn't; I dug down deeper into the ground before I could be kidnapped, and I'm glad I did," Denzel replied, and then stared at his friend with fearful eyes, "you ARE gonna get my family back, right?"

"I'll do everything I can, Denzel, but I can't promise it one hundred percent. I mean, I just started to learn about some of my powers; you can't expect me to know how to handle everything just yet," Henry explained with worry.

"I guess you're right," Denzel sighed, but then he crossed his arms in anger, "but you're just lucky I'm coming with you; I could be back home, staying away from the danger, like a smart person—but NO, I have to tag along with you on some crazy and dangerous adventure."

"There's the Denzel I know," Henry chuckled with a smirk.

"By the way, you've still got some flames on your horns there," Denzel simply said while pointing at some lingering flames on Henry's horns.

"Oh, thanks," Henry chuckled while patting down the flames.

But soon, the Dragon Monster and Dugglemonster saw the edge of the Dark Forest a few good yards ahead, but they also saw that there was a large group of rock golems, like the one they encountered yesterday, only smaller.

"Ok, ya know what, I'm gonna sit this out, while you get in the extra cardio, ok buddy?" Denzel asked hysterically while slowly backing away, and Henry only rolled his eyes before preparing for a real fight.

And it wasn't long before most of the rock golems finally noticed Henry and Denzel, but the Dugglemonster suddenly dug underground to hide, so that left Henry alone to fight for himself; not that that would be a problem.

Henry quickly flew up to the golems, but when he dove down to try and hit one, a golem in his blind spot packed a serious punch to the young Dragon Monster, and Henry couldn't take such force, and he was sent flying back from the powerful impact.

His body was soon skidding across the dirt, but he also skid past Denzel's hiding hole; soon, Denzel popped up from his hole, and he suddenly grabbed Henry and pulled him back in just before the rock golems could get them.

* * *

When Henry finally woke, he felt a terrible pounding in his head, and he also found himself in a small and dark place.

"You ok, Henry?"

Henry perked up when he heard Denzel's voice, and that he was sitting across from him in the small and dark hole.

"I think so…I don't know…ugh, what happened?" Henry groaned.

"You took a real hit from one of those things."

"Aww, no…I can't top now, I have to get back out there and save everyone!"

"Whoa, hold on there, tiger; you couldn't even take ONE hit! What makes you think you can handle them now?" Denzel asked angrily while stopping Henry before he could climb up and out of the hole.

"I forgot what I could do, and I was reckless, Denzel; Grand-o told me to use my powers wisely, and I'm going to, whether you like it or not," Henry firmly protested, but Denzel only growled and rolled his eyes while shaking his head.

But he didn't stop Henry this time when he flew up and out, and he reluctantly followed him. Luckily, when they reached the surface, all of the golems were gone by now, but it was also nighttime.

"Sure you wanna keep going?" Denzel asked sarcastically.

"Of course I do, and I think you would too since your parents are probably in there," Henry simply replied while walking off, and he didn't wait for Denzel.

But Henry's statement struck Denzel, and his eyes went wide with realization, so with a scoff, he followed Henry.

* * *

 **I am SO excited to be writing this, and I can't wait to get to the part where we finally meet Dakota! Oh, are you excited?! 'Cuz I'm excited, and I've never been more excited! Well, except for the time when I posted my first story here, but I mean REALLY, who can top that?!**

 **Pinkie's just adorable.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Lightning Within

Chapter 3 - Lightning Within

Henry and Denzel soon gathered enough courage to venture into the Dark Forest again, and they were lucky that the golems from earlier were all gone…but Henry knew that that didn't mean he wouldn't face more dangerous enemies again. And it really didn't help that the sky was soon getting covered with storm clouds growing ever thicker, but luckily there was no storm.

But it had taken them hours to cover a lot of ground within the forest, and it wasn't until the sun finally started to rise to begin the morning that Henry and Denzel realized that this random search wasn't working.

"This forest is too huge, Henry. How are we going to find anyone in here?" Denzel pointed out with worry.

"I don't know if you should say 'we', Denzel…I-I really don't think you should be coming with me," Henry added with fear of his friend getting hurt.

"Are you kidding? I'm not just gonna leave you; just because I don't have super powers doesn't mean I can't help," Denzel protested with a smirk, "besides, I'm not gonna let you have all the fun."

Henry could only smirk at his friend's stubbornness and bravery, but his smirk was short-lived when they heard a horrible, loud, shrill roar emit from the skies, and Denzel and Henry were immediately petrified.

"AAAAAHHHH!" the young monsters screamed and started running in horror to get away from whatever made that noise.

"Breath, Denzel, old boy! Go ta your happy place!" Denzel frantically screamed at himself, as he sprinted alongside Henry, and they soon found a large hollow in a tree trunk, in which they wasted no time in taking cover in it.

They hid and waited in that trunk, as they dared not to take another glimpse outside, fearing that the REAL monster here could be right there; they heard a few more shrill roars, and even what sounded like giant wings flapping with power through the air. But a few moments later, they swore they didn't hear anything, and assumed it was safe again.

"What was THAT?" Denzel asked with fear.

"I-I don't know," Henry whimpered, but then his eyes went wide with realization, "maybe it was Dakota."

"Now that I think about it, that IS what he kinda sounded when he attacked last night," Denzel pondered aloud while leaning against the back of the hollow, but then it suddenly cracked under his weight, and before Denzel knew it, he fell into a hole below the hollow.

"Oh, no! Denzel! Denzel, are you ok?!" Henry called down with fear while trying not to fall with all the loose dirt at the edge of the hole.

But there was no response at first.

"DENZEL?!"

…

"I'm ok, Henry! But you HAVE to come down here! I found something REALLY cool!" Denzel finally called back, and Henry started fluttering his little wings, and slowly and carefully flew down the small hole.

As Henry went further down, the space around him soon became pitch black, and he couldn't even tell if he was flying down anymore. But he soon stopped when he hit something, but he had no idea what it was, especially since it felt squishy.

"Um, what did I hit?" Henry asked himself while trying to squint into the darkness to see what he was sitting on, but to no avail. But his question was soon answered when the tips of Denzel's horns lit up like little light bulbs, and Henry realized he was sitting on Denzel's back.

"You landed on me, Ace," Denzel grumbled sarcastically.

"Whoops. Sorry," Henry chuckled sheepishly, and soon got back up and helped Denzel back on his feet.

"So, what did you find?"

"That."

Henry followed Denzel's claw, but what he saw that he was pointing at made his eyes go wide and his mouth was gaping with amazement; Denzel was pointing at what looked like a large cluster of beautiful, glowing, bright white crystals growing at the end of the small and dark tunnel a few yards away. And Henry felt like the crystals was somehow calling to him, so he slowly started walking towards it.

"Uh, Henry? Yoo-hoo? Helloooo?" Denzel asked when he was confused, as Henry only continued towards the purple crystals, and he never came out of his trance.

But as Henry ignored his friend, he soon reached the crystal, and he only stared at the crystals in even more awe, as he gently placed a clawed hand on it.

"Uh, Henry, I don't think you should be touching that, let alone look at it…ya know what? Let's just leave and pretend we never saw it," Denzel pointed out with worry, but as much as he wanted to leave, he knew he couldn't leave his best friend behind.

"Oh, stop worrying so much, Denzel…besides, I…feel like these crystals are…calling out to me," Henry protested while never taking his eyes off the crystals.

…

"Ok, riiiiiight..." Denzel began slowly, and reluctantly walked up to Henry, "then how come I don't hear anything?"

"I don't know," Henry replied with a shrug and FINALLY averted his eyes from the crystals to look at his friend, only to find Denzel suddenly staring at the crystals with wide eyes too.

"What?"

"Look, Dude…" was all Denzel could say, and that's when Henry suddenly heard a cracking noise.

Henry turned his head back at the crystals, but what he saw started to scare him; there were cracks starting to spread from under where his hand rested on the crystals, and they quickly grew bigger. Out of panic, Henry took his hand from the crystals as fast as he could, but the cracks only continued to spread, and the crystals grew even brighter.

And not five seconds later, the entire clump of crystals suddenly shattered into a million shards, and they started to float around Henry, and before they knew it, every single crystal shard suddenly dove into Henry, but they disappeared as soon as they hit the young Dragon Monster. But as more and more of the shards were absorbed into his body, he felt himself becoming stronger.

…

"Whoa, what was THAT, Dude?" Denzel asked with shock.

"I-I don't know…a-all I know is that I feel SO much stronger," Henry replied while slowly smiling, and he couldn't help but raise his arms and try to flex his muscles.

"Well, what ever you do, don't point your…'magic powers' at me," Denzel added while bringing his arms up in defense and quickly stepping out of Henry's way.

"Don't be such a fradey-cat, Denzel, now c'mon," Henry laughed and suddenly took flight, but he didn't fly up and out the hole before grabbing Denzel's hand and carrying him.

"I don't know, Henry…are you sure that whatever happened with those crystals was normal?" Denzel asked with worry as he and Henry reached the inside of the tree again.

"Well, maybe not, but I know for sure that it wasn't a bad thing either; otherwise, I might've been hurt by now, right?" Henry protested while he and Denzel walked out of the hollow.

"Maybe, but still…"

"But we STILL need to find the adults. Any ideas?"

"Um…wouldn't the enemy try to, oh, I don't know…HIDE the adults?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I mean, if I ever tried to hide something in the woods, I would take it to the thickest parts. But that's just me."

"No, no it's not just you…Denzel, you're a genius!"

"I try, I really-WHOA!"

Before Denzel could get all cocky, Henry suddenly grabbed Denzel's arms and took him flying above the trees with him.

"See anything, Denzel?"

"Um, no…nope…nuh-unh…nothing there…" Denzel rambled on while looking around the treetops, and Henry did the same while keeping them in the air…but then something caught Denzel's eye.

"Down there!" Henry followed Denzel's gaze, and what he saw made his eyes go wide too. In a clearing that wasn't much bigger than the one they ran into the other day, there were a group of rock golems just like the one Henry fought to save Denzel.

"Do you think those are the same golems that attacked you last night?" Denzel asked.

"It sure looks like them…but it also looks like they're…uh-oh…"

"Uh-oh? Uh-oh what?!"

When Henry squinted to get a better look, he saw the horrible sight of two of the rock golems lining up and raising giant bows, and tied between the golems' arrows was a huge net. And Henry froze the sight of the arrows and the net, but luckily his wings kept flapping and kept them from falling.

"Henry, snap out of it!" Denzel cried, but it was too late. The rock golems shot the arrows in sync, and the net spread out the closer it came; by the time it was too close, Henry finally snapped out of it, but he dropped Denzel by accident.

After Henry dropped Denzel, he was no longer in the net's trajectory, so once it finally caught and immobilized Henry, both young monsters were plummeting.

"AAH! HENRY, HELP ME!" Denzel pleaded and flailed his arms and legs, too scared to look down at the fast approaching ground, "USE YOUR FIRE, HENRY!"

With that, Henry suddenly remembered his fire breath, so he immediately began to spread out all four limbs and both wings to stretch out the rope around him, but it was a struggle when his limbs and horns were getting entangled in the net.

But Henry was beginning to get angry, impatient and scared all at the same time, so out of instinct, he suddenly opened his mouth and let out many roaring flames. And like the first golem he battled, the rope was soon defeated by his fire, turning brittle enough for Henry to finally break free and flap his wings to stop his falling…but there was still one problem.

"AAAAHHH!" Henry knew that that could only be Denzel's cries, and he soon found his friend in the clutches of one of the rock golems, who must have caught him and broke his fall, but he was still in danger.

But Henry remembered what happened last time he tried to face those guys, and he couldn't let that happen again. So, with the fires of courage in his heart, he suddenly dove for the rock golems, as his fists, horns and wings began to light on fire again.

The young Dragon Monster started to feel the same powerful sensation that the crystals gave him when the shattered, and he could once again feel the power coursing through his body. But when he reached the golems, he didn't attack, he only swooped in like a bird, causing the golem holding Denzel captive to accidentally let him go out of fear.

"Run, Denzel!" Henry shouted as he circled back around.

"You don't need ta tell me twice!" Denzel shouted back and immediately burrowed deep into the ground, which was exactly what Henry planned.

Now that Denzel was safely out of the way, Henry could dive back in head on without worrying about injuring his friend, and he did just that; he folded his wings closed, bobbed his head down and closed his eyes to brace for impact, but the rock golems weren't prepared at all.

Once Henry's fire power reached its peak, he unleashed a fury of flames, just like he did during his training, and the fires quickly spread and danced across the clearing when Henry landed with a loud boom. And like the first rock golem, they all caught fire and quickly retreated while crying like little babies.

Luckily, the fire couldn't spread to the dry, dead trees to cause a forest fire once Henry had powered down after losing so much energy, but Denzel flinched when he got back out of his hole and touched the singed dirt.

"Ouch! Were you trying to burn the golems or me?" Denzel whined and blew on his slightly burnt hands once he climbed out of his hole.

"You're welcome," Henry chuckled while patting down the fire on his limbs.

"Thank you," Denzel mumbled.

"So, did you see anything else up there?"

"What?"

"Did you see any signs of the adults?"

"Uh…yeah…yeah, yeah, yeah! Now I remember! I think I saw someone!"

"Do you knew which direction they went?"

"No."

"Well, I do."

"How do you know where they went?"

"The golems that I just chased off, they all went in that direction," Henry replied while pointing to their left, "so maybe they'll lead us to where they're keeping the adults."

"Smart thinkin', Henry, smart thinkin'…so why don't YOU lead the way then?" Denzel asked while starting to push Henry forward, still too scared of any nearby enemies, given what just happened.

"If you're scared, you can hold my hand," Henry added with a smirk, and Denzel only growled and crossed his arms in response.

"WAAAAAH!"

"Did you hear that?" Denzel quickly asked, but Henry only hushed him. But the crying came once more…and Henry knew exactly whose cry it was.

"Oh, no…" Henry whimpered and suddenly sprinted deeper into the woods, heading towards the source of the crying.

"Henry, wait!" Denzel called out, but Henry wouldn't stop, so he ran after the focused Dragon Monster, but it wasn't easy to catch up with him. Henry continued to dart around trees like a snake, and Denzel nearly lost him a couple of times, but his frantic sprinting soon came to an end when he rounded a large tree and finally found who was crying.

"Ivor! Oh, thank goodness!" Henry cheered and ran to pick up his toddler brother, whose crying immediately stopped once he saw someone familiar.

"What's Ivor doing out here by himself?" Denzel wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but this is a good sign. Momma must've dropped him when she and the others were taken through here, so maybe they're close! C'mon!" Henry demanded and ran off again, making Denzel huff in aggravation and exhaustion from all the running, but he followed his best friend anyway.

"How can you be so sure, Henry?" Denzel asked after too much running, in his opinion, but Henry didn't need to answer when they soon found yet another clearing, and in the middle of the clearing, trapped under a huge cage built out of thick intertwined tree branches with a tall metal rod in the middle to keep it all together, were all of the adults, including Henry and Denzel's parents.

"Mom! Dad!" Denzel and Henry cried out and sprinted for the cage, and Ivor cooed at the sight of his parents.

"Oh, Henry! Ivor! Thank goodness you two are alright!" Henry and Ivor's mother cried tears of joy, as she and their dad tried to hug them through the branches, as did Denzel and his parents.

"But where are Cobby and Summer?" Daddo soon questioned.

"Well, um…we haven't exactly found them yet," Henry replied with worry.

"We don't even know if the others are in the forest," Denzel added.

"Well, you boys need to hurry and get out of here before anymore of those…things come back! And the guard never leaves us for too long!" Henry's mom pointed out and looked with fear, and the other adults knew what she was talking about, but Henry and Denzel didn't have a clue.

"Guard? What guard? There's no one out here," Denzel protested with a cocked brow.

"Yeah! And don't worry, I'll get you all free in no time! Now, stand back!" Henry demanded as he handed Ivor over to him, who soon stepped back, as did the adults. Soon, Henry opened his mouth and let loose his fire breath again, causing part of the cage to catch fire, slowly burning the wooden prison bars away. But as their chances of escape seemed to become greater, the clouds in the sky become thicker and darker, finally releasing a clap of thunder that had been held in too long. The clap was loud enough to make everyone flinch, and a few birds even fled the area, but it also scared little Ivor into crying.

Everyone started to panic when Ivor's crying grew louder, knowing that his crying could place them in more danger by drawing the guard's attention.

"Ah! Oh, no! Please, be quiet! Please, be quiet!" Denzel begged while trying to calm the baby by bouncing him in his arms, but nothing worked. And soon enough, the terrifying sound of large thumping footsteps were heard approaching, and due to the shaking in the ground and the trees, they could tell the guard wasn't going to be little…or happy.

"Oh, hurry, Henry!" Henry's mom cried, and her son immediately started punching the wooden bars to break them faster.

"DUDE!" Denzel shouted, and Henry reluctantly turned to see what his friend was crying about, only for his eyes to go wide when he finally saw the guard standing there.

While everyone else's knees were shaking, Ivor only clapped and giggled at the sight of the rock golem that was nearly four times bigger than the ones Henry had faced before.

But despite being greatly outweighed against the guard, Henry knew, one way or another, he was going to defeat this boulder and save his parents and the other adults.

"You wanna come after me? Cage me? Hurt me? Well, fine! But leave my friends and family ALONE!" Henry roared at the guard while taking flight, and he hovered in front of the cage's metal rod to get eye level with it. The giant rock guardian let out a low roar in response, but that didn't phase the little Dragon Monster. But while Henry was distracted, he failed to notice the sudden numerous flashes of lightning dance directly above him across the sky.

"Henry, look out!" Denzel shouted when he noticed how close the lightning was getting to the ground…but it was too late. The rock guard swung a fist to knock Henry away, but Henry swooped back just in time, but the second his back was against the metal rod, a giant flash of lightning suddenly struck the rod, shocking Henry too.

Everyone screamed in horror, especially his mom, knowing that there was no way he would walk away from a lighting strike like that, but even as bad as it looked with Henry's body going limp and he fell onto the top of the cage…not all hope was lost.

Henry remained knocked out for a moment, and the rock guard laughed evilly and raised a fist to squash him, but a few strands of electricity were charged between Henry's horns and fingers. And just like an AED, Henry felt an electrical charge jump-start his heart, and he sprung back to life while shooting a beams of electricity from his own hands up at the guard's hand just before he could squish him.

The event of Henry's newfound powers resulted in the rock guard's whole arm to suddenly become paralyzed from the electrical contact, and he stepped back a bit to try and wake his arm back up by banging on it with his other fist, or by shaking it around frantically.

And while the guard was busy with that, it gave Henry enough time to gather his strength up again, and so he flew up to the top of the lighting rod and suddenly grasped it tightly in both of his hands; another strand of lighting came down from the sky and came in contact with the rod and Henry, as did another, and another, and another. Before they knew it, Henry's plan worked; with all of the gathered power, the lighting was enough to vaporize the entire wooden cage into ashes in the blink of an eye, and Henry let go of the metal rod and let it drop.

But even with the adults free, it wasn't time to celebrate just yet; the rock guard was finally able to ignore his paralyzed limb, and he immediately wanted to fight Henry again. But when Henry let the lightning course through his body while holding onto the metal rod, immense quantities of electricity was stored inside of him, and it wasn't going to stay there long.

"You guys might wanna step back," Denzel added while handing Ivor off to his mom, and he started pushing the adults a few yards back, knowing what was coming next.

And Denzel was right to be precautious. As Henry turned to face the giant rock golem again, the electrical charge in his hands began to spark brighter and brighter, and before the guard was ready, the Dragon Monster started throwing electricity balls at him while flying all around him, shooting every inch of him with electrical spheres.

The more electrical balls the rock golem was hit with, the more the enemy became helplessly paralyzed. And before long, the golem was frozen in place, in a pose where he tried to grab Henry, but he became a real rock statue before he could even touch the Dragon Monster.

Soon, Denzel and the others came out of hiding, and they all came to congratulate Henry when he landed.

"Nice job, dude. You TOTALLY kicked rock's butt taday!" Denzel cheered and grabbed Henry's shoulders to shake him up a bit.

"Yeah, I don't think he'll be setting foot in Roarsville EVER again," Henry added with a smirk and looked back up at the now forever-frozen rock golem.

"Oh, c'mere, my little warrior!" Daddo laughed and suddenly pulled his son in for a noogie, in which Henry struggled to break free, but to no avail.

"Yes, we're very proud of you, Henry," Momma added sweetly, and gave her son a little peck on the forehead once her husband was done giving him a noogie.

"Thanks, Momma. But you're not safe yet. We should get you home, and after you're all back in Roarsville, I'll need to leave again to find the elders and the children," Henry pointed out with worry.

"Well, keep your chin up, Kiddo! We believe in you!" Daddo added firmly, and the other adults and Denzel all cheered in agreement.

* * *

 **Awesome! Henry learned a new ability! But I hope you're hungry for more, because the story is DEFINITELY not over yet!**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Rescue Roddy

Chapter 4 - Rescue Roddy

Once Henry and Denzel lead the adults and little Ivor back to Roarsville, the sun was starting to reach its midday peak, but the clear sky wasn't what caught their attention; instead, they all started to notice the newest and rather strangest addition to the town. Clumps of glowing white crystals, just like the one Henry and Denzel found, had started to appear randomly outside and inside the town, much to their surprise.

"Grando!" Nanno cheered and sprinted towards her husband.

"Nanno, my love!" Grando called back and welcomed his wife with open arms, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Hon."

"Oh, it's alright. You'll always be my hero," Nanno reassured and pecked him on the nose.

"Uh…hate ta ruin the sweet reunion, but haven't you noticed the surplus in weird, power crystals around here?" Denzel soon pointed out.

"Yeah, what are they, Grando?" Henry asked his granddad.

"They're called Spirit Gems; they've been growing from the earth as a gift, ever since the first Dragon Monster was born. They provide us with energy for our magic, and now that your powers are on the rise, so are they, which is why you've never seen them before."

"Really? I just thought it made more weird stuff come out of Henry's mouth," Denzel added sarcastically, "and I think the crystals made him learn some new abilities out there."

"Well…it was really an accident," Henry added with embarrassment.

"That 'accident' still saved us, Kiddo," Daddo pointed out with a smile.

"He certainly did, but he'll have to learn how to control his newfound abilities if he wants to save more lives," Grando said while kneeling down in front of Henry and grabbed his hand, causing Henry to accidentally give him a little shock.

"Oh, sorry, Grando!"

"Don't be, Henry. I've dealt with electricity long before you have, and that means I can teach you everything I know."

"Does that mean…?" Henry asked with excitement.

"Yup! It's time for some more training!" Grando replied with enthusiasm.

"Uh-oh…" Denzel whimpered, remembering what Henry was capable of the last time he trained. But Denzel had no choice; he could only follow Grando and Henry headed for the fountain in the middle of town, and the adults had all followed out of curiosity. And like last time, Grando made the fountain slowly disappear below the ground's surface, and Henry stood over where it once was.

"Now, Henry, I want you to focus, alright?" Grando began firmly, as small wooden scarecrows magically sprouted from the ground and surrounded Henry again, "electricity is an ability you must master using your wits; you must be quicker than the lightning strike."

As Henry processed his grandfather's directions, he looked down at his hands and noticed little strands of electricity dancing between his fingers, and the more the wooden dummies closed in, the more frequent the strands became.

But like Grando said, Henry needed to act quickly. So, before any of the dummies could lay a wooden finger on him, Henry suddenly created balls of electrical energy in his hands, and he spun around while throwing them at all of the dummies who were unfortunate to be the in the balls' trajectory.

And Henry's quick thinking was a success when each of the dummies fell in an electrical trauma, and soon vanished into this air with Henry's victory.

"Yeah! Not bad, Kiddo!" Henry's father called happily, and the other adults cheered…except for his mom, who was quite worried.

"Oh, but what if he hurts himself out there?" Henry's mother whimpered.

"Momma, I'm fine. I rescued you guys, didn't I? And I can't give up now, not with the other kids and elders still out there, needing to be rescued," Henry pointed out with a chuckled.

"Yes, you're a good kid, Henry, and that kind of motivation will always keep you going. So, you'd better use it now to continue with your training—because you'll need it," Grando explained slyly, and the dummies suddenly came back with his words.

But the dummies didn't circle around Henry this time, they actually started to spread out and run around, and it almost seemed like they were chasing everyone else.

"You need to hurry, Henry! You need to stop them all!" Grando called out. Henry was nearly sent into a panic, as he saw the fear in the adults' eyes while they fled from the pursuing dummies.

But out of instinct, Henry suddenly took flight and created more balls of electrical energy in his hands, and he started chasing the dummies down himself. And the closer Henry got, the more the dummies forgot about chasing and thought more about fleeing the young Dragon Monster.

Henry's biggest priority was to protect everyone, and he had to do that quick because the dummies seemed to run slightly faster than the monsters. So, he started throwing electrical spheres at the dummies, and though he missed a few times, and the spheres fizzled out into the ground, he eventually struck each dummy that nearly caught someone.

The rest that decided to keep fleeing still weren't lucky enough to escape Henry's electrical attacks, and they soon perished too. And the adults couldn't help but cheer for him, and little Ivor only cooed and clapped happily at his older brother; though, Denzel was mostly used to it, so he could only smile and wave.

"You're a fast learner, Henry! Good job!" Grando announced while clapping at well. And with that, the fountain started rising back up from the ground, much to Henry's surprise.

"Wait! Aren't there anymore moves you need to teach me?"

"Oh, please, don't let there be anymore," Denzel begged Henry's grandfather, making the said retired Dragon Monster chuckle.

"I don't think it's safe for you to test your full power anymore, Henry," Grando pointed out while referring to the adults and Ivor, obviously stating that they could get hurt in the process of Henry's training.

"I think it would be best if you discovered that kind of power in your own time."

"Are you sure? Why wait for more magicy…'stuff' to fly out of his mouth?" Denzel asked sarcastically.

"It's ok, Denzel. I'll learn to control it," Henry reassured, and then he noticed that his grandfather quickly went back to gazing into the fountain again.

"See anything, Grando?" Henry asked with worry, as he joined Grando's side, even though he couldn't see anything in the water.

"Yes, I'm afraid so…I know where the children are being kept—the Salt Pan," Grando replied with fear.

"Ok, then! Just tell us how to get there, and we'll go get 'em," Denzel demanded.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy, Denzel. The Salt Pan is much longer journey than that of the Dark Forest; even when you do rescue the children, the journey back will be too dangerous to trek," Grando explained while thinking deeply, "…you'll need something that will transport them safely."

"Did someone say they needed transportation?" a cheery voice cut in, and it turned out to be Hollander, the town's blimp pilot.

"Hollander, you couldn't have had better timing!" Grando laughed.

"You'd be willing to carry us in your blimp, through danger and peril?" Henry asked with hope.

"It's the least I can do after you saved me, Henry," Hollander replied with a smile.

"Thank you," Grando thanked Hollander, "now, Hollander, Henry, what you'll be looking for is a vast, empty desert; you'll need to head south, but even when you find the children, keep your guard up. And Henry, protect Hollander's blimp."

"What about me? You aren't countin' me out, are ya?" Denzel cut in with a smirk.

"Are you sure, Denzel? What about your parents? Won't they be worried?" Henry asked.

"Not if they don't know I'm gone. C'mon, Henry, I'm your best bud, and I'll always be there for ya…even when there are bad guys trying to kill us," Denzel protested and slinked a friendly arms over Henry's shoulders.

"Well…ok…but if you get in trouble with your parents, don't blame me," Henry admitted in defeat.

So, Hollander found his ship, which was luckily left alone by Dakota's forces when they attacked the town, and Henry and Denzel climbed aboard before the blimp slowly took off and pointed south.

* * *

After about an hour had gone by, Hollander had already flown too far out from civilization, but no deserts could be seen yet.

"Anything, Hollander?" Henry asked after waiting too long.

"Nothing but forests and plains!" Hollander replied back, never taking his eyes from the skies.

"Is it me, or does your granddad keep sending us on wild goose chases?" Denzel asked in annoyance.

"He's not lying, Denzel. We just need to be more patient and look harder," Henry protested angrily.

"Well, maybe ya need to get your eyes checked, pal, 'cause I don't see anything," Denzel added while crossing his arms, but then he looked out the front windows, and he nearly screamed when he saw something on the ground not too far below.

"But I see something now! Look!" Denzel gasped and ran up to the front of the ship. Henry and Hollander followed his pointed finger, and they were also shocked at what they were seeing.

Hollander was barely flying half of a mile above the ground, so it was easy to spot the huge metal war canons that were stationed many yards apart, and posted at each canon was a golem…but they seemed different.

"Do those golems look different to you?" Henry pondered aloud.

"Forget the golems! The Salt Pan is just beyond those canons!" Denzel pointed out, and Henry and Hollander soon found that he was correct; just beyond the canons, a vast and empty desert could be seen.

"That's gotta be it! Good work, Denzel!" Henry cheered.

"I have my moments," Denzel said while getting cocky, but he soon realized it was no time to celebrate when a booming sound suddenly echoed through the air, and the boom turned out to be one of the canons that just fired.

But luckily, the canon ball had just missed Hollander's blimp, but they could tell that they were going to fire more soon.

"Henry, you need to protect the blimp! If it goes down, we won't be able to transport the children back to Roarsville safely!" Hollander cried out, and he shifted the blimp into high gear. But even with the ship going at top speed, it wouldn't be able to out fly the canons' fire.

"You got it, Hollander!" Henry reassured and he flew out through a window, and he stayed close to the air ship to protect it. But then Henry realized he had a problem. How was he going to stop canon balls flying towards them at full momentum?

But before Henry had any time to think, another canon fired at Hollander's blimp….and the golem aimed perfectly for the gondola this time.

Henry mustered all of the electrical energy he could into his claws, and with each canon ball that came close, he fired electrical orbs powerful enough to stop and even shatter each canon shot. He continued with this fighting style for a while, and there were a few close calls when he nearly missed and the blimp was almost struck down, but Henry kept it safe the whole time.

"This isn't going to stop! I need to destroy the canons!" Henry called and dove down without a warning.

"Don't get yourself killed!" Denzel warned, but Henry never looked back. As the young Dragon Monster grew closer to the ground, he noticed that these golems were different from the ones in the forest; instead of stone, their bodies were made of clumps of sand, and they were nearly transparent.

There was a sand golem placed at every barrage of canons, and even then, there were numerous sand golems surrounding them for reinforcements. But Henry tried as hard as he could not to let his fear take over, as he decided to use some fire power this time.

Henry began shooting fireballs down at the canons, and they quickly caught fire with the sulfur being loaded into them, but the golems weren't quick enough to fire before the canons exploded. Each fiery explosion turned the sand golems into glass since heated sand becomes glass.

And now that the sand golems were more vulnerable, Henry could dive bomb each glass golem and shatter them. Eventually, the remaining sand golems, who weren't caught in the explosions, fled back into the desert.

"Nice job, Henry!" Hollander cheered when his blimp was catching up.

"We're not done yet! We can't let those golems escape! We gotta follow them!" Henry pointed out firmly.

"You heard 'm! Onward, Hollander!" Denzel shouted in agreement, and Hollander wasted no time in following Henry, as they flew further into the desert.

But Henry was able to fly faster than the blimp, so he was the only one able to catch up with the fleeing sand golems, but he soon found them running up to a flat valley where they gathered with many more sand golems, including some bigger sand golems.

But it wasn't the enormous group of sand golems that caught Henry's attention, it was the object in the middle that they were guarding; there seemed to by a large wooden cage, but Henry couldn't tell who was locked inside.

Henry also began to notice the few Spirit Gem clumps close the golem gathering, and he knew what he needed to do.

"Stay back! This is going to get messy!" Henry shouted at Hollander when the blimp began to catch up again, and Hollander heeded his warning and put his blimp in hover mode.

Without another word, Henry dove down towards the gem clumps, head bashing each of them while in flight, and gathering the energy-filled gem shards they broke into. Each small gem shard Henry absorbed gave him much more energy, and he knew how to handle this many golems.

But Henry's focus was temporarily thrown off when he got close enough and finally realized who was locked in the wooden cage. "Roddy?!"

Roddy Cloudmonster was the one locked in the cage, but no matter how many golems gathered around his cage and growled at him, he was arrogant and growled back, not that it scared the enemy.

"Go away, I got this!" Roddy roared, but Henry knew he wouldn't be able to save himself. So, he ran into the crowd of sand golems, and out of instinct, he started creating electrical orbs and fired them up into the air; each eventually came back down and struck the golems.

The smaller golems were too weak to sustain the electrical orbs, and they quickly collapsed from the pain and froze from the surges shutting down their bodies. But the attacks felt like little flicks to the bigger golems, and they were quickly closing in on Henry as he ran up to Roddy's cage.

"You're only making them angrier!" Roddy angrily pointed out.

"I know what I'm doing! That being said, you'd better duck!" Henry warned, but Roddy only stared at him with a cocked brow. But when Henry turned and faced the large enclosing group of giant sand golems, and streams of lighting started to dance on Henry's hands, arms and horns, Roddy soon realized he should probably listen to him, so he quickly curled into a ball and wrapped his arms around his head to protect it.

Soon, the streams became bigger, brighter and faster, and when Henry began to flap his wings and lift himself a few yards into the air, he could feel the power of the Spirit Gems practically charging his abilities again, and he then released an Electric Fury.

A huge ring of electricity was formed around Henry, and the Electric Fury caused the ring to suddenly expand, striking each large sand golem with immense power. The golems were struck down and turned to glass when they collapsed, as Henry landed back down on the desert floor, streams of electricity dancing on his limbs while his powers died back down.

But when Henry turned back around, he noticed that the top half of Roddy's cage was now gone, and the remaining bottom half of the wooden bars were now singed and frail. Roddy remained a ball of shaking fear.

"You can come out now, Roddy," Henry said with a little chuckle, and Roddy scowled at him with anger and embarrassment. But when Roddy tried to stand, he suddenly grunted and collapsed.

"Oh, no! What's wrong?"

"It's just…my leg…" Roddy tried to lie and make it look like nothing was wrong, but Henry could tell that something was definitely wrong when he saw his left leg was slightly crooked at the knee.

"You're hurt."

"No, I'm not."

"Let me help you."

"I'll be fine!" Roddy snapped, and he breathed a cloud to carry him out of the cage, and once he climbed onto the little cloud, he never looked back at Henry when he flew out into the desert.

"Roddy, wait! It's dangerous!" Henry called, but Roddy never stopped or said anything, and he soon disappeared over a sand dune.

"Wouldn't we be better without him? I certainly wouldn't mind leaving him behind!" Denzel called down from the blimp.

"No! Roddy may be hotheaded, but we can't leave him!" Henry added firmly while flying back up into Hollander's blimp.

"Fine, we'll rescue him too…" Denzel sighed in defeat while crossing his arms.

* * *

 **Am I the only one that hears Timmy Turner's voice whenever I hear Roddy speak? Not surprising, though, since Tara Strong voices both characters. But that's not the only cool thing! We're trekking into new territory, and come next chapter, Henry might just learn a new ability!**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Ice Magic

Chapter 5 - Ice Magic

Hollander had driven his blimp across the Salt Pan, in search of Roddy and the other monster kids, and even with Henry and Denzel onboard helping to look for him too, it proved to be no help. And Roddy surprisingly seemed to have disappeared.

"We've been looking FOREVER…you think Dakota might've captured him?" Denzel whined.

"I hope so," Henry replied.

"What?!"

"Well, if HE didn't, then that means there's more than one giant, evil monster."

"Oh…good point…yeah, if Roddy was captured again, I hope it was Dakota too."

"Where else do you need me to go, Henry?" Hollander cut in.

"I-I don't know…I don't see anything…" Henry replied with worry as he looked out the window, and he saw nothing but sand, sun and a clear blue sky.

"How do we know anyone else is even out here?" Denzel asked with impatience.

"HEEEEEELP!"

"We follow the screams," Henry stated fatly. He then flew out of the blimp without another word, and he started skimming the desert floor many yards below.

Hollander tried to make a u-turn to follow Henry when he flew in the opposite direction that the blimp was heading, but Henry was so eager to just find someone, that he didn't look back or slow down for the airship. The young Dragon Monster continued to skim the sand dunes, and Lady Luck seemed to finally smile down on him when he flew over a large dune, and right there, as plain as the nose on Pinocchio's face, the rest of the Roarsville kids were all there, trapped together in small groups of separate wooden cages.

"How'd we miss that?" Henry asked himself, trying to remember if they flew over this dune and somehow missed them. But he then shook his head and focused on rescuing the others, and he swooped down to get a better look.

Once Henry landed, he was suspicious when he realized there weren't any enemies around, not a single golem or anything. They were left completely unguarded…but why?

"Henry! It's you!" Summer cheered at the sight of her little brother, as he quickly approached the cages, and she and Cobby were conveniently locked in the same cage, so Henry was able to hug them both through the bars.

"Are you ok, bro?" Cobby asked with concern.

"I'm ok. And I'm glad you're alright. What happened after Dakota attacked last night?" Henry questioned while examining the cages to figure out a way to get them out.

"We don't really know," Cobby replied.

"Yeah, it's all a blur. All I remember was hearing a noise, so I went downstairs to investigate. Next thing I know, I felt I thumping pain in my head and that was it. I woke up here in a cage with Cobby," Summer explained while rubbing the somewhat still sore spot on the back of her head.

"Everyone else says they just saw a shadow, but it was too quick to see what it actually was," Cobby added.

"Could that have been Dakota?" Henry asked with curiosity.

"If it was that big, shadowy monster with huge wings that was just here, it might've been," Cobby replied with a hint of fear in his tone.

"You mean Dakota was here?! Oh, that's just great! Here we are, Dakota, just WAITING for you ta gobble us up!" Denzel shouted hysterical when Hollander landed his blimp a few yards away, and the young Dugglemonster jumped out to catch up with Henry.

"Quit it, Denzel. We need to get them out of here before Dakota or his forces come back," Henry demanded firmly.

"Does that mean we've stopped looking for Roddy?"

"For now. We're going to look for him after we get done here."

"Of course we are."

"Any ideas on how to get them out of these cages, Denzel?"

"Do I look like a locksmith to you? You're the hero here, you'll figure it out."

"We've tried breaking out, but these wooden bars are just too thick. It's like they're embedded with magic or something," Summer pointed out.

"How do golems know how to magically enhance cages?" Henry pondered aloud.

"U-uh, Henry? I-I think we've got a bigger p-p-problem," Denzel whimpered while cowering behind Henry, confusing the said Dragon Monster. But when he followed Denzel's gaze, he looked out to find a huge lump traveling quickly under the sand, and it was getting closer and closer.

"What is that?" Henry questioned.

"We don't know. We've seen it move through the sand before, but it never came out," Cobby replied sheepishly.

"And THAT'S my cue ta head out!" Denzel shouted in fear, and suddenly dug into the sand to hide, making Henry roll his eyes as this was becoming the norm for him.

As the lump in the sand grew closer, it seemed to get larger…but then something odd happened. Just when it was a couple yards away, the lump suddenly disappeared, as if whatever was traveling underground suddenly dug deeper.

Nothing happened for a few seconds. Even Denzel decided to pop his head out from his hole.

"You think that's a bad sign?" the Dugglemonster asked softly, but before anyone could answer, something suddenly shot up from the ground, making Denzel immediately go back into hiding.

The creature was tall, much taller than the rock golem who was guarding the Dark Forest, only it wasn't a golem. It was a long serpent whose body was made up of sand, like the golems from earlier. His fangs were huge, his tongue constantly flicked, and his eyes had no pupils, they were just large, glowing yellow holes.

"A sand snake, huh? Well, let's tango," Henry chuckled while cracking his knuckles.

"Henry, there's ALWAYS time to be overconfident, especially in showbiz—but this is NOT one of those times!" Summer shouted after her brother in disappointment, but Henry only ignored her, as he just took off and prepared to fight.

But the sand snake put up quite a fight; it would constantly try to snap its jaws down on Henry, who barely escaped by zipping out of the way just in the nick of time. But Henry knew if he kept this up, the serpent would never go away, and the others wouldn't be freed.

And given that this creature was a much threat than the rock golem in the Dark Forest, Henry couldn't go easy on it. He WOULDN'T go easy on it.

Henry never particularly liked snakes, as he only saw them as cold, heartless creatures. So, Henry thought he'd fight fire with fire—or ice with ice.

The young Dragon Monster began to circle around the snake's head, getting faster and faster and making it more difficult for the snake to keep track of him. Henry then felt the wind get chillier and chillier, as it whipped into his face and with his wings, and he soon started to feel the cold coat his claws and wings and horns, like a thin coat of snow.

Henry then stopped right behind the snake's head, but it immediately followed him and hissed to warn him not to come any closer—but he wouldn't have to. The Dragon Monster inhaled deeply, and he felt that his breath was cooler and crisper all of the sudden.

And when Henry breathed back out, he put all the might of his lungs into it, blowing chilled winds, snow and ice at the snake's head. The sand snake's head was immediately frozen, right as it opened its mouth to try and gobble Henry again.

When the snake's head was frozen, Henry hastily began to quickly fly around the snake in a spiral while still breathing icy winds, coating its sandy scales with ice.

Soon, the entire sand serpent was like a frozen ice sculpture, and when it was left completely vulnerable, Henry darted through the sky and bashed head-first into the frozen worm, shattering it and causing ice shards and snowflakes to go flying.

Henry soon landed and took a few more breaths in and out to get used to the practically minty-freshness on his breath, but he then stopped and noticed the shocked way everyone was looking at him; even Denzel had come out of his hole.

…

"Dude, you are getting weirder and weirder by the second," Denzel finally piped up with as chuckle, and Henry grinned at him.

"C'mon, help me with these cages," Henry said softly, and he soon began to cover the cages with thick layers of ice, and then he and Denzel would jump on or ram into them to break the frozen bars.

Soon, there were holes and gaps in every wooden cage, and ever kid of Roarsville was eventually free, as they were all lead to Hollander's airship.

"H-hey, w-what about me?!"

Every turned and stopped just when Hollander was about to lift his airship from the ground, and they all saw a distressed Roddy messily flying towards them on a cloud that was quickly disappearing. And when his cloud finally poofed away, and he landed face-first into the sand at the door into the airship's gondola, Denzel smiled evilly down at the red Cloudmonster.

"Gee, Roddy, I thought you said you didn't need any help," Denzel mocked.

"I don't!" Roddy snapped.

"Then you wouldn't mind if we all left you behind to get back to Roarsville on your own, right?"

"No…maybe…ok, I would mind, so lemme in! Lemme in!"

With that, Denzel and Henry smirked and rolled their eyes, but they gave in and helped poor Roddy onto the ship since his leg was still broken. And soon, Hollander finally started up his airship's engine and slowly took off on their journey back to Roarsville.

"You want some ice on that, Roddy?" Henry asked when he noticed how swelled Roddy's left le looked, and how he hissed every time he touched it.

"W-well…a block of ice WOULD help…but where are we gonna get any ice in the desert?" Roddy asked in disbelief, and Henry never answered his question; he just held his hand up to his mouth and took a deep breath in, and he then breathed out some smaller chilled winds, creating a block of ice in it, and he then handed it to a bewildered Roddy.

"U-um…thanks?" Roddy thanked with fear, and he slowly placed it on his left knee, debating whether or not he wanted to know how Henry could've possibly done that.

* * *

 **Can anyone find the(somewhat)direct quote of Sparx from The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning?**

 **That being said, I do NOT own The Legend of Spyro or Henry Hugglemonster. Henry Hugglemonster belongs to Disney Junior, and The Legend of Spyro belongs to Krome Studios.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	6. Chapter 6 - An Ally in the Arctic

Chapter 6 - An Ally in the Arctic

It didn't take long for Hollander to get everyone back to Roarsville safely; an hour, perhaps. And upon return to Roarsville, the parents were more than relieved to find everyone child from the small town was alright, as every kid ran to their parents and each family shared big group hugs.

"Thanks, lil' bro, you saved us!" Cobby thanked while patting Henry on the back.

"Yes, you're our hero, Henry!" Summer cheered and suddenly hugged Henry tightly.

"No problem, guys," Henry chuckled while hugging back.

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute! We're missing someone!" Denzel suddenly shouted.

"Yes, the other elders still need rescuing," Nanno pointed out with worry.

"Don't worry, Nanno. I'll rescue them all with my new powers," Henry reassured.

"You've learned something new, Henry?" Grando asked with a proud smile.

"I sure did, Grando! I learned how to control ice, and it's actually pretty cool!" Henry replied with excitement.

"Ah, so you've learned ice? I'll be honest, Henry, ice was never easy for me to learn, so I'm proud that you've caught on so quickly—but that doesn't mean you shouldn't practice," Grando chuckled.

"It never does," Denzel sighed while crossing his arms, and Henry once again headed to the center of town after Grando made the fountain disappear underground.

And like before, multiple wooden scarecrows popped out of the ground, and everyone gathered around to watch the interesting practice session.

"Try throwin' some ice darts at 'em, Henry!" Grando instructed, and Henry immediately followed his orders and cupped his claws together, ultimately spewing ice darts from them. And they pierced the dummies like bullets, shattering them and causing them to collapse.

Henry did this with the rest of the dummies, impaling their wooden chests with sharp ice darts. Soon, the dummies all fell after being paralyzed with a coat of ice, falling and shattering in defeat.

"Awesome!" Cobby cheered.

"Yes, well done!" Summer added happily.

"What they said!" Denzel admitted with a shrug.

"Alright, now try freezing them all with one breath!" Henry nodded and took flight upon his granddad's instructions, hovering while waiting for the new fleet of wooden dummies.

The mere second another fleet was erected, the young Dragon Monster took in an immense breath, arching his back and puffing his cheeks to hold it as long as he could. But when the dummies scattered, he let it all loose. Just like his grandfather demanded, Henry was able to cover the entire wooden fleet in one swoop, ice and snow and chilly winds whipping, even sprinkling the edge of the excited crowd.

Henry nearly fell when he landed, as he was breathless from the large sudden loss of air. He huffed in the middle of the crowd when the dummies all burst into magic sparkles and finally ceased to return with a new fleet. Soon, he moved out of the way when the fountain rose up again.

"Good job, Henry. I believe you're ready for the last journey," Grando pointed out with a smile, patting his grandson's back while approaching the fountain and glancing deeply into its waters.

"What dangerous place awaits us next?" Denzel questioned sarcastically.

"The elders are imprisoned on Arctic Archipelago, a group of small islands always covered in ice and snow—but be mindful of the volcano amidst the islands. It's been dormant for over a century, but even sleeping volcanoes can erupt when you least expect it," Grando explained firmly.

"Not to worry! I've got the eye of a hawk. I won't miss that volcano," Holland reassured with a smirk.

"Well then, I guess it's time to head off again," Henry added after finally catching his breath.

* * *

"Cold, Denzel?" Henry couldn't help but smirk at his friend's frantic shivering; he had been freezing cold ever since Holland's airship flew into the light snowstorm of the Arctic Archipelago.

"Y-you're j-j-just high and m-m-mighty c-c-cause you're a-a Drag-g-gon M-Monster," Denzel shook in protest, tightening his arms around him to try and keep warm.

"Here, take these!" Holland called from the front, tossing a winter scarf, hat and gloves to the shivering Dugglemonster, and he hastily put them on and sighed in relief from the warmth.

"Where did you get these, Holland?" Denzel questioned.

"I keep winter wear stashed in my ship all the time. The higher you go, the chillier it gets," Holland replied with a jingle.

" _Now_ you tell me," Denzel muttered dryly.

"There it is!" Henry called and pointed down at the group of snow-covered islands his grandfather mentioned before.

"Good eye, Henry!" Holland complimented and began to descend his ship to the closest beach.

"Stay here and out of sight, Holland. We'll get the elders to you as quick as we can," Henry instructed the airship pilot after they landed.

"Good luck!" Holland called before Henry and Denzel made their journey into the frozen islands.

"Ok, let's see…" Henry pondered aloud, stopping and taking in their surroundings, "Where would they hide the elders?"

"Well, I'm no hero like you, but maybe we should mind the signs that point us to the old volcano?" Denzel suggested sarcastically.

"What signs?" The Dugglemonster responded by merely pointed a claw at the nearest sign on the edge of the path, and carved into the wooden sign was "This way to the old volcano."

"Oh…" Henry breathed in awe, "Right, well, let's go then."

"POMOGITE! HELP ME!"

Henry and Denzel froze when a guttural call for help echoed throughout the winter winds, wondering which direction it came from. So, the young Dragon Monster took flight and used his bird's eye view to look around, quickly spotting an old monster clad in a thick winter coat as he was being chased by a gang of ice golems.

"He needs our help!" Henry shouted down at Denzel before darting to the monster's aid.

"Who doesn't?" Denzel asked grimly before following his flying friend, but he came to a slippery halt when he ran out onto a large frozen lake, and in the middle was the coat clad monster with the ice golems on his tail. When Denzel tried to stop, the ice proved it to be impossible as he skid across the frozen lake and right into the claws of the ice golems.

"Leave them alone!" Henry roared and took a deep breath to release a raging fire, as it would make sense to use heat against creatures made of ice, and the ice golems easily melted from his fiery attack.

"Spasibo, thank you so much!" the coat clad monster laughed giddily, his voice had a thick Russian accent, "Eh…but who are you? And what are two children like you doing out here alone?"

"My name's Henry, and this is my friend Denzel."

"We came to rescue a bunch of old people," Denzel flatly informed.

"You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?" Henry questioned.

"Na samom dele, I do! The elders you seek were taken and imprisoned at the base of Gornaya Gora," the coat clad monster explained.

"What's _Gornaya Gora_?" Henry repeated in confusion.

"It's our tribe's sacred landmark, a volcano that has been asleep for at least one hundred years. We've lived in peace with it for many years, but now the rest of my tribe is helplessly trapped there by Dakota's dastardly goons. I am lucky to have escaped…"

"Well…what about this? If you take us to Gornaya Gora, we can take care of Dakota's forces and free the rest of your tribe, and our elders too," Henry suggested with a smile.

"Hmm…that is good plan, Henry. Khorosho, I'll help you if you free my people in return," the coat clad monster agreed with a nod.

"It's a deal!" Henry declared.

With that, the old monster lead Henry and Denzel down a worn path his tribe had used for a long time. But as they journeyed on, a simple thought kept rolling around in the Dugglemonster's head.

"What's your name, anyway?"

"Oh, how rude of me!" the old monster chuckled, "I am Soyuznik, the chief of my tribe."

* * *

 **Hoo, sorry for taking so long to update! Even though school's ended for the summer, work's still got my schedule tight. But I do plan on finishing this story soon. So exciting!**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Into Gornaya Gora

Chapter 7 - Into Gornaya Gora

Shortly after Soyuznik started leading Henry and Denzel through the snowy and barren forest, he told the boys to be quiet and careful; he even grabbed them and hid them behind a thick tree trunk.

"What is it?" Henry whispered, but he immediately closed his mouth when the faint sound of a twig snapping sounded nearby.

"Snezhnyy bars," Soyuznik informed quietly while peeking around the tree.

"Bless you," Denzel commented dryly.

"Shh!" Henry hissed and slapped his claws over his friend's mouth.

"They've already found us," Soyuznik quickly pointed out in fear.

"Who?" Denzel muffled through Henry's hand.

But Denzel's question was hastily answered when a large snow leopard jumped out from a mound of snow, its claws and fangs extended to attack. The big cat yowled at the top of its lungs when it jumped out, causing Denzel to scream in terror and make a downward dash into the snow.

Upon instinct, Henry opened his mouth wide and exhaled, letting loose a cloud of ice and quickly trapping the snow leopard in a thick case of ice, and leaving it in a rather humorous position in the middle of its pounce.

"These things aren't evil, are they?" Henry asked as he could see the leopard's eyes darting around in fear and confusion within the ice.

"No, but they are still dangerous," Soyuznik replied and walked up to the frozen cat, "Serves you right, adskiy kot."

"Well, I'm not killing anyone or anything if they're innocent," Henry protested firmly.

"I do not care what you do. Just make a safe path to my village, and be quick. If we wait anymore, my people could be razrushennyy."

"Don't worry, Soyuznik. You can count on me." With a reassuring smile, Henry took off and quickly spotted more snow leopards hiding along the path. And using his electric and ice abilities, Henry stunned and rendered every single snow leopard along the way.

"H-Hey!" Denzel called after he came out of his hole in the snow, and he quickly hopped out and ran after Henry and Soyuznik, "Wait for me!"

Soon, the three monsters made their way through the barren forest as Soyuznik's lead the way, Henry kept watch from above, and Denzel followed close behind on the ground. But the young Dragon Monster broke in midair when he saw something below, and it didn't look friendly in the slightest.

"Uh, Soyuznik?! Your village isn't surrounded by giant ice harpoons and ice golems, is it?!"

"You've gotta be kidding me," Denzel commented flatly with wide eyes, and he skidded to a halt.

"Da! Yes, we're here!"

Soyuznik's excitement got the best of him, as it quickly alerted the ice golems alone the perimeter of their presence. And even though they didn't notice Henry, they hastily aimed their icy harpoons and canons at Soyuznik and Denzel.

But Henry wouldn't let the golems lay an icy claw on his friends, so he took a big breath in and breathed out a barrage of flames, melting each harpoon with ease as they rained down.

When the golems ran out of ammo, they realized the danger they were in. And for such a little monster, Henry let out a surprisingly intimidating warning growl when they looked up at him. The ice golems then made a break for it to stay alive, and the village was finally free of danger.

"Otlichno srabotano, Henry!" Soyuznik cheered and ran into his village, "Now come, help free my people!"

Henry quickly landed, and he and Denzel ran into the village to find all pf the inhabitants imprisoned in a large cage made out of solid ice.

"Chief Soyuznik, thank goodness!" a female villager shouted in excitement.

"The ice is too thick! We can't possibly break through!" a male villager pointed out.

"We don't need to break through. We just need to melt the bars," Soyuznik protested with a knowing smirk.

"Kakiye?! Where are we going to find enough heat to melt all of this?!" the same male villager questioned in doubt.

"Look no further! I can get you out, but you all need to stand back!" Henry announced firmly while approaching the cage.

" _You_?! Ha! How is a little monster like _you_ going to free us?!"

"Oh, believe me, he can do it. And you better get back," Denzel informed flatly, as he and Soyuznik walked back, as well as the majority of the villagers in the cage. But some refused to believe Henry could actually get them out.

But they would unknowingly regret it, as Henry inhaled and once more let out a stream of powerful flames, easily melting through the icy bars and creating an exit. And the few villagers that chose to ignore Henry were now covered in ash and soot.

"Well…I guess he _could_ do it," one of the villagers reluctantly admitted.

"Yes, but we still have a problem" Denzel told Henry, as he pointed into the cage while the others exited.

"He's right," Henry gasped and ran up to Soyuznik, "Soyuznik, where are the prisoners from Roarsville?!"

"I-I'm not sure. I thought they would be kept here as well," Soyuznik admitted in shame.

"They were brought here in the beginning, but then they were moved into old tunnels of Gornaya Gora," a kind female villager pointed out.

"Wait, so…you mean they're _inside_ the volcano now?" Denzel asked with disbelief, "Great. So, now we gotta rescue the elders with the risk of burning alive…can we please just go home now, Henry?"

"Not a chance, Denzel. Don't forget, _your_ grandparents are in there, too," Henry firmly protested.

Denzel's eyes widened in realization, "Not my Grammy! I'll do anything, even go into the fiery pits of Gornaya Gora, just don't let them hurt my Grammy!"

"If you really wish to venture into Gornaya Gora, you must be careful. The volcano has not erupted in many years, but imeyte v vidu: A powerful disturbance could awaken the great mountain, so use your powers wisely, Henry," Soyuznik warned.

"Thanks, Soyuznik. But don't worry, I'll make sure to keep Gornaya Gora asleep, _and_ flush the rest of the bad guys out," Henry explained calmly, "But we could really use your help finding where our elders are being kept."

"Prosti, but I cannot go with you. My people need me here after all they have been through—but I can give you a map."

* * *

Henry and Denzel soon followed a trail that lead to a cave entrance at the base of Gornaya Gora, and Henry created a small fire orb for a light source in once claw while holding the map in the other.

But after a while of following the map and venturing through the maze-like tunnels, Denzel was once again losing faith.

"'Follow the map', he said. 'Everything will be fine', he said," Denzel ranted sarcastically, "I feel like a rat in a maze."

"We're never gonna find anyone with an attitude like _that_ , ya know," Henry protested, "And there's no need to complain. We _will_ find them, and we'll all be just fine."

"Oh, really? I find that hard to believe, account of what happened the last two times."

"Not everything is so easy, Denzel. Sometimes, you've gotta do what you've gotta do."

"Well, what _I've_ gotta do is stay alive."

"And you're doing a fine job at that, so there's nothing to worry about."

Denzel growled and rolled his eyes, but he accidentally bumped into Henry afterwards. And it only got worse after that when Henry glanced back in confusion, and he accidentally brought the map too close to his flame and…poof!

The fire in Henry's claws instantly went out when the map burned up, leaving the two young monsters in a pitch black void.

"Uh…sorry," Denzel admitted nervously.

"It's fine. Guess we'll have to travel blindly from here—so to speak," Henry sighed in disappointment, and he snapped his claws to spark another fire. But as soon as the small light pierced the darkness, a low growl could be heard near by.

"Oh, great. _This_ again," Denzel hissed.

The two young monsters quickly turned around when the heard the growling come from behind, and it grew louder as a large mass arose from the ground. The creature stood about one hundred feet tall, and nearly reached the top of the large chamber.

Lights all over the creature lit up, like glowing red lava between rocks, and it was soon revealed to be a gigantic, three-headed canine with shackles and chains around its three necks and front paws.

The three-headed lava dog bared its teeth, and all three heads leaned down to glare at Henry and Denzel with its burning red eyes. But Henry was just as determined, and scowled right back up into its demonic eyes.

But before Henry knew it, a huge paw came out of nowhere and swiped at him, throwing him against the cave wall like a rag doll. Henry's back was sore, but he quickly retaliated by taking to the air and buzzed around the dog's heads like a fly.

And as Henry kept him distracted, Denzel made himself use for once and examined the chains, realizing that they were connected to the cave walls. This canine was chained up. But as Denzel took a few steps back to get a wider view, he nearly fell off the edge and glanced down to find a deep and dark pit far below. And that's when it hit him.

"Hey, over here, Mutt!" Denzel called mockingly, and started jumping around and waving his arms to get the monster's attention, "Yeah, _you_! Whoo-hoo! Come and get me if ya can!"

"What're you doing?!" Henry exclaimed in fear, as the monster suddenly averted its attention to his best friend.

"Distracting him while you figure out a way to push him over the edge!"

"What?! Why?!"

"Just trust me!"

Henry didn't want to risk Denzel getting hurt all because he wouldn't listen, so he frantically tried to come up with a strategy. And it wasn't long before Henry remembered the canine's fiery body, so he summoned his ice powers again. But a creature this size would take _a lot_ of power, so Henry knew he couldn't hold back.

Mustering all of the cold energy and wind he could find, Henry recalled his battle against the Sand Serpent in the Salt Pan, and remembering the negative energy from the snake. And this three-headed dog may not be a snake, but it is just as dastardly.

And with a flick of his claws, a giant ice spear emerged from him with a powerful gust of wind close behind. The spear soon pierced the ground right below the canine, instantly freezing it and covering it in thick ice. Now, with very little grip, the canine started to slip helplessly, which is when Henry used more wind to push the monster across the ice and closer to the edge.

Soon, the three-headed dog fell over the edge, but tried desperately to hold on with its huge claws. Unfortunately, Henry froze his claws, too, until they shattered from the pull of the dog, and it plummeted into the darkness below. It was too far down to see what happened to the monster, but the chain attached to it soon went straight, followed by a loud snap that echoed throughout the chamber.

"We've just made this worse," Henry firmly pointed out while landing next to Denzel, who was staring in awe down into the abyss.

"What? How?! We just got rid of Dog Breath here!" Denzel argued.

"Yes, but we're _in a volcano_. If we cause anymore commotion like that, we'll blow everything to bits."

"Oh, yeah…"

"But we can't leave without the elders. Let's just be more careful."

"Whatever you say."

* * *

 **They have only encountered another one of Dakota's pets. They have yet to face the real danger.**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Vast Courage

Chapter 8 - Vast Courage

Continuing down the dark corridors, but also getting lost a fair few times, Henry and Denzel eventually came upon another large and dimly lit chamber; on the far side, all of the elders of Roarsville were cowering, safe and unscathed.

"Grammy!" Denzel shouted in pure joy, as he ran up to his grandmother and jumped into her arms.

"This doesn't make any sense," Henry muttered in confusion.

"What doesn't? That we found our grandparents? That's probably the best thing to happen to us today," Denzel argued.

"No, I mean, there's no cage. No shackles. Not even a magic force field or something."

"Well, yeah, because that three-headed beast outside was guarding them."

"But it all just feels…too easy."

Out of nowhere, the entire chamber started to shake and bellow, pieces of rock collapsing from above. This could only mean one thing.

"We gotta get outta here," Denzel whisper-shouted, not wanting to damage the weak cave walls even more.

"Something's not right here. Denzel, lead the elder out of here, and take them to Hollander. I'll be right behind you!" Henry instructed and took flight, disappearing down a dark tunnel to find the source of the rumbling.

Reluctantly, Denzel followed orders and started leading everyone out of the volcano, albeit not very well since he still didn't know the way. But eventually, he managed to find the exit and the elders instantly made way to Hollander's ship.

Meanwhile, Henry ignited a spark of fire in one claw to provide some light in the darkness, following the hallway to yet another chamber…but it was slightly different. At the floor of the chamber, a large fiery orange swirl of heat spiraled to the center, where a giant transparent crystal floated in mid-air.

"What is that?" Henry pondered aloud.

"A Spirit Gem," a sinister voice hissed, "Well, an artificial one, at least."

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

The owner of the voice did just that. Henry's eyes darted around in fear and curiosity, hoping that it wasn't who he thought it was. But his hopes were too high.

Emerging from the shadows, an abnormally large monster with ebony skin, two pairs of long dark blue horns that curled like a ram's, a giant pair of dark blue wings, and eyes as bright and red as fire.

"D…Dakota," Henry quivered, knees shaking in utter terror.

"What? Were you expecting a burly, beastly man?" Dakota mused with a wicked grin, "Too bad. _I'm_ much worse."

"Th-That doesn't matter! I _will_ beat you, Dakota!"

"Oh, I would love to see you try, little one. But let's get back to this little thing, first." The female monster gently grabbed the artificial Spirit Gem from its invisible hold, gently spinning it in her razor sharp claws. "Given its unnatural nature, this gem is more dangerous than beneficial. And once I use it to drain that last of your powers, there will be nothing you can do to stop me."

"How is one crystal going to help?"

"Oh, it's not the only one!"

Dakota cackled as her other hand summoned three more similar crystals, but they were all glowing brightly with different colors; one was red, one was yellow, and the other was blue. Each of them had a familiar pull on Henry, but he couldn't figure out why.

"You really are an ignorant child, aren't you?" Dakota snarled matter-of-factly, "Did you honestly think that I placed those guards just to keep you from freeing everyone?"

Henry's eyes widened in realization, "You used them."

"Of course I did. And you fell for it. Each time you used your most powerful magic on them, their corpses became a container for that magic. I just need a little more, and it'll all be over."

"No! I won't let you have anymore magic!"

"Oh, really? Well, let's just see how long you can keep that promise—before I kill you!"

It all happened so fast. Dakota lunged at the young Dragon Monster with lightning speed, but Henry was slightly faster; his smaller size allowed him to dodge her long claws and horns as they tried to strike him. And he soon spread his wings and flew down the nearest tunnel. But Dakota was far from giving up.

Even with her larger size, she kept up with Henry by ramming into the walls to make the tunnels large for her to fly through and keep up, not that she didn't have trouble. Her head may have made more room, but her large wingspan constantly bumped the rigid and rough walls, slowing her down a tad bit. But it wasn't enough to keep her from slashing her claws at Henry again, and one even managed to strike his back, leaving a fresh wound.

Despite the injury, Henry flew on and on. He didn't dare to look back at the true monster behind him, but he did mindlessly aim a few fireballs behind him and shoot them from his claws. The odds of him hitting her were slim, but a few did hit her in the face and smeared it with ash.

At one point, an ember exploded over Dakota's eye, making her yowl and curl in pain, raising her rage even more. Her wings unfolded even more, ignoring the pain as they bashed through even more rocks, letting out a shrill roar.

The sound sent chills down Henry's spine, and he found himself unable to conjure anymore elemental powers to fight back. He was defenseless.

Just as they passed through the chamber where the three-headed dog was defeated, the ceiling above suddenly opened, and a large object barreled down onto Dakota.

"Grando!" Henry exclaimed in shock, as his own grandfather fought back the dark monster with everything he had. But it wasn't enough.

As more time passed, strength and determination quickly faded from the old Dragon Monster, but he never went down. Until suddenly, the rest of the cave ceiling finally gave out, stalactites covering the sight of the one-sided battle.

Before Henry could try and fly after them, a large rock suddenly bashed him on the head, instantly knocking him unconscious. His limp body fell to the cave floor, and more rocks threatened to crush him to death.

* * *

Awaking to a splitting headache, Henry's eyes slowly blinked open while trying to remember what happened before blacking out. And then it hit him.

"Grando!" Henry gasped and sat up, his wide eyes darting around to find that he was in his own bed, his own bedroom, his own hometown of Roarsville. But he knew he couldn't be here, not when his grandfather could be in grave danger.

But when the young monster tried to get out of bed, his knees instantly collapsed beneath him, and he was breathless as he fell to his hands and knees.

"Take it easy, Kiddo," the gruff yet calm voice of Henry's father instructed, as he came to his son's aid and helped him up, "You took quite a beatin, ya know."

"I don't care…Grando's in trouble, and I won't stop until he's safe," Henry grunted meekly, only to nearly fall again if Dustin hadn't caught him.

"That's why I came to get you. After you passed out, he and Dakota disappeared," Dustin reluctantly informed, sighing in sorrow, "We knew you'd want to go after them, so the elders promised to help."

Convinced, Henry followed his father out to center of town, where most of the locals were gathered around the same fountain Grando had trained him and foreseen his next objective. Without him, it just felt empty.

"Good to see you alive and well, Young One. We are eternally grateful for your rescuing us," an old man thanked with a respectful bow.

"Yes, we only see fit that to repay your noble deeds, we shall propel you to saving your grandfather," an old woman kindly informed, smiling at Henry, "Fear not, Henry. He was a resilient and powerful Dragon Monster when he was your age. He won't give up so easily."

"Neither will I," Henry firmly pointed out.

"That's good. You'll need that vast courage in your heart for where you're headed—Dakota's lair, or more commonly known as the Dark Isle," the first old man grimly stated, "It won't be an easy journey, and the only way you'll ever free your grandfather is defeating Dakota once and for all."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," the young Dragon Monster growled.

"Very well," another old man nodded, "Once you're fully healed and you've completed your training, Hollander will take you to the shores of the Dark Isle."

"But what's left to learn? I've learned everything I can."

"That's not true. The final and arguably most powerful ability of the Dragon Monsters is wielding earth and nature itself. With enough practice, you may be able to move mountains one day."

"Awesome," Denzel breathed in awe nearby.

"But I don't have time to train!" Henry snapped, baring his fangs, "I'll figure it out as I go, just like I did with the other elements! Right now, there's a life on the line!"

The elders all went silent at the young Dragon Monster's outburst, but understood his motivations, nonetheless.

"Alright. You may leave for Dakota's lair as you see fit, but be sure to get plenty of rest along the way," an old woman sighed in defeat, and the rest of the elders murmured in agreement.

* * *

Not wanting to waste time, Henry, with Denzel insisting on tagging along again, waited near Hollander's airship while waiting for the engine to start up.

"Henry, wait! I need to talk to you!" Estelle shouted as the ground shook when she quickly approached.

"Sorry, Estelle, but we got baddies ta take down and places ta be," Denzel jokingly protested.

"But it's important! It'll help you rescue Grando, I promise."

Intrigued and desperate, Henry cocked a brow and crossed his arms, "What is it?"

"Ok, so, you know how you have to learn how to control the earth, or something?" Estelle began.

"Yes…"

"Well, no one knows how to lower and raise the ground like us Enormomonsters. We've been stomping the powerful earth for generations, and we learned a thing or two."

"Is there a point to this?" Denzel questioned impatiently.

"Of course. What I'm getting at here is, earth is never gonna be easy to push around. It takes _a lot_ of guts and strength to get it to bend to your will, Henry, so there's no room for weakness."

* * *

 **We're getting very close to the end. Will Henry have what it takes to face Dakota?**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!**


End file.
